Many people think that sports massage is only for professional athletes or for competition-ready amateurs. However, many weekend athletes can benefit from massage before and after their unaccustomed exertions. In fact, these intermittent athletes might benefit most of all.
Professionals who have access to regular massage know how it helps maintain their peak condition, flush metabolic wastes from muscles after a game or workout and to warm muscles before a game so they're ready to go.
What many casual athletes don't realize is that they, too, can reap the benefits. While regular massage therapy is good for stress management, pain relief and general health maintenance, sports-specific massage can help you avoid injury and to recover more quickly from the strains and physical stresses of whatever sport or activity you engage in.
While massage shouldn't take the place of pre-sport warming up, it can be a useful adjunct. It's also important to remember that you should warm up before you stretch. A little jogging in place, jumping jacks, even walking up and down a set of steps a few times to get the blood moving and the muscles warmed will help avoid injury from stretching cold muscles. Think of an elastic that's been in the freezer all night. If you take it out and subject it to sudden stretching, it may very well snap or fray. Warm it in your hand first, and you can stretch it to its fullest without damage. Your muscles are similar, so warm them up first, then stretch, then go on to the sport or activity.
"That's all very well," you say. "Where does massage fit into all this?" Well, in addition to your own warming activities, a massage therapist versed in sports massage, can use techniques that help the warming process. He or she can also stretch the muscles, get the blood flowing to the limbs that are going to be most active and generally help you prepare for whatever you're going to be doing. Remember, this works best in conjunction with your own pre-event exercises.
A key point you want to keep in mind is that you don't want a relaxing sort of treatment before you go out and play. There are massage therapists who don't realize the importance of rapid, light techniques and who are used to giving slow, deep massage. This is fine after the sport is over, when you want your muscles flushed and loosened so you aren't as sore the next day as you might otherwise be. Relaxing massage before you go out and run or play tennis or baseball will leave you feeling enervated and sleepy instead of energized and ready to go.
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